News

This lesbian couple launched a rescue of children caught in a riptide

Tabatha and Brittany Monroe are heroes. When two young boys were swept away in a riptide at Panama City Beach in Florida, the couple promptly swam over to try to save them. But when they got caught in the current too, something even more amazing happened.

Brittany Monroe, 25, left, with her wife, Tabatha, 35.

In the end, not only were the boys and the couple trapped, other would-be rescuers and family members got caught in the riptide as well, struggling to stay alive. Six family members, including the boys, and four other swimmers were caught when people on the beach decided to help make sure no one died.

Since law enforcement had decided to wait for a rescue boat, beachgoers formed a human chain to reach into the water so each person was anchored and couldn’t get swept away too. In the end, dozens of rescuers joined arms and legs to haul everyone back to safety and out of death’s grasp.

Jessica and Derek Simmons led the rescue effort, swimming down past over 80 people to be the ones who plucked the near death victims from the riptide and started passing them down the chain with each person helping to keep their heads above water until they were safely on the beach.

“I got to the end, and I know I’m a really good swimmer,” Jessica Simmons told the News Herald. “I practically lived in a pool. I knew I could get out there and get to them.”

So they started with the children and an hour after the boys were trapped in the current, everyone was rescued.

While the boys’ mother nearly drowned and their grandmother had a heart attack in the water, no one died. Brittany Monroe and the grandmother were transported to the hospital, but no other injuries were reported.

Be sure to read the entire harrowing account at the Washington Post and remember, it was one of our tribe that jumped in first to save the boys. The next time some right wing nutjob claims LGBT people are dangerous to children, tell them the story of Tabatha and Brittany Monroe. Heroes like those two will prove that prejudice is just as dangerous as any riptide and it can also be conquered with love, hard work, and selflessness.

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